ArtPrize 2012

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Drew Gingrich

Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This year marks the 4th year for ArtP rize, an international art competition. ArtPrize is a relatively young event. An idea brought into reality a couple years ago, ArtPrize has evolved and matured into what I would consider one of the most unique competitions in the world. This year, over $560,000 in prize money was distributed to top placing artists. There was a popular vote as well as judged categories.

In the beginning, ArtPrize was structured in a way that the winners were judged entirely by a popular vote. Under the scrutiny of many art critics, the first year of the competition revealed that there were quite a few holes in terms of "fairness." One issue that soon became apparent, was that some venues (businesses hosting art pieces) did not have consistent operating hours during the length of the competition, thus, allowing some of the art pieces in these venues more or less exposure than others. Another issue arose from art critics who were questioning the judgement of the "artistically ignorant" public. The public vote entirely determined who would get awarded the prize money and the top placing art pieces were typically large, outdoor, or flamboyant installations easily viewable by the public. Many of these would not necessarily be what most artistically inclined individuals would deem worthy of 100k or 250k.

In more recent years, ArtPrize rules and regulations have evolved, settling issues like exposure time and fair judging. Venues wishing to participate in ArtPrize would now have to remain open for a pre-determined time period during the competition (most of which were after typical business hours). This year, also included a whole new category of winners and awards that were judged by a panel of art critics. This allowed many works of art that may not have been appreciated by the general public to be recognized by the "art savvy" judges.

I had the opportunity to talk with one of the artists, Jeffery Gauss, who was excited by the constant stream of attention his MicroDoodle was getting. His venue, the B.O.B. (Big Old Building), is a very popular and centrally located space. While chatting with the artist, he seemed very excited by the mass appreciation and exposure his art was getting.

In any case, while some disgruntled artists my find unfairness in the competition, I think you will find an overwhelming approval for the event as a whole. Many artists join the competition full well knowing they may not win the grand prize, but free exposure is valuable thing.

Congratuations to this year's winner of the Grand Prize $200,000, Adonna Khare. Cant wait for next year!

"Elephants"

2012 CANstruction

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Drew Gingrich

This year, I held a larger role in our company’s involvement with the annual “food drive” competition, cleverly named, CANstruction. This year, the theme was “Year of the Dairy Cow,” with the tagline “Celebrating the Hoosier Spirit.” It is always encouraged to try and incorporate this into the design if possible, but not necessarily mandatory.

This year, in our brainstorm session, we tried thinking along the lines of the “Got Milk?” slogan. A few minutes later and we are talking about the 2012 Olympics. Sure, we switched to something that was current right away, but let’s be honest, that’s usually what wins. Besides, athletes drink milk, so we are totally keeping with the theme.

There are several different awards to win, but it’s really the “people’s choice” that is the coveted prize.

This year, the awards are as follows:

· Best Meal
· Best Use of Labels
· Structural Ingenuity
· Juror’s Favorite
· People’s Choice
· Most Cans – New Award

Our design this year will include The American Flag, the Olympic Torch, and the Olympic Rings.

After sketching out some ideas on paper, we started modeling our project in Revit. I took on the bowl and rings while another team member designed the flag. At this point, we have no idea how this is going to work or be constructed, but we needed to start somewhere.

It took several long nights of diligent work to figure out how we were going to support our structure. The team decided that we would support certain layers of the model with a thin Masonite board. It took a lot of cutting and sanding with jig-saws to get each layer just right, in order so that they will not be seen, helping to support our can structure.

Lora and Brandon working hard, cutting out the Masonite layers

When build day finally arrives, our volunteers/co-workers make their way to the Indiana State Fair, to the agriculture and horticulture building, where our firm has an allotted space (10′X10′X8′) to build our structure. Our fellow competitors are local architecture firms that are all arranged in a tight row on some uneven concrete flooring. It is important when stacking cans, to be very aware of your surroundings – If not for your own clumsiness…sabotage.

It’s important that while stacking cans, everyone is very aware of their surroundings, so no one accidentally bumps into the structure. It’s a little frustrating in the beginning to get things planned out, but once you have a good foundation, it’s pretty easy after that.

Laying the foundation. Its very important that we figure out the bottom couple layers because they will be the starting point from which everything is resting on. It is especially difficult figuring out where the floor is most level to build on.&nb… — Laying the foundation. Its very important that we figure out the bottom couple layers because they will be the starting point from which everything is resting on. It is especially difficult figuring out where the floor is most level to build on.